It's sad for me to see that the saga I loved the most out of all gets the least love from OP fans. Yeah, as the review states, they cram a flashback right in the middle of the big damn fight - it happens in the manga too -; and yeah, it drags in spots - although anyone who found this any draggier than Water Seven should go back and re-evaluate that saga. But this fight was one of the rather few in all of OP that deserved the now cliched "epic" moniker. Eneru's power and how he handles it makes the character memorable in how much trouble he gave the Straw Hats. They've faced fiercer and deadlier foes, but none as driven and, shall we say, rather creative in his way of making fights unexpected - I loved the golden ball detail, for one.
Not to mention, the entire saga deals with a land high above the clouds with the sheer wonder of discovery and majesty that overcomes the crew. It does follow the template nearly every other saga follows, but as far as a change of pace from the arid deserts of Alabasta or the frigid mountains or wherever Chopper is from, it stands on its own.
So yeah, it's the one saga that makes me back and say "man, Oda can come up with some seriously fun ideas" as opposed to how overlong Water Seven or out-of-place Thriller Bark turned out to be for me.

At least they didn't drag it out as far as the fight they just finished in the simulcasts. I realize that's allowing the manga to get ahead, and yeah, it was good, but even any of those who didn't read the manga could tell they were dragging it waaaaaaay the heck out.

It's sad for me to see that the saga I loved the most out of all gets the least love from OP fans. Yeah, as the review states, they cram a flashback right in the middle of the big damn fight - it happens in the manga too -; and yeah, it drags in spots - although anyone who found this any draggier than Water Seven should go back and re-evaluate that saga. But this fight was one of the rather few in all of OP that deserved the now cliched "epic" moniker. Eneru's power and how he handles it makes the character memorable in how much trouble he gave the Straw Hats. They've faced fiercer and deadlier foes, but none as driven and, shall we say, rather creative in his way of making fights unexpected - I loved the golden ball detail, for one.
Not to mention, the entire saga deals with a land high above the clouds with the sheer wonder of discovery and majesty that overcomes the crew. It does follow the template nearly every other saga follows, but as far as a change of pace from the arid deserts of Alabasta or the frigid mountains or wherever Chopper is from, it stands on its own.
So yeah, it's the one saga that makes me back and say "man, Oda can come up with some seriously fun ideas" as opposed to how overlong Water Seven or out-of-place Thriller Bark turned out to be for me.

I think you may be referring to Enies Lobby, which yeah was pretty long, Water Seven I think was short, to the point and very satisfying.

Although I'm right there with you on Thriller Bark, wasn't a fan of it at all

I was kind of surprised to see Carl state that the flashback episodes lost all of their impact due to their positioning, as I enjoyed them very much myself regardless. (And really, that golden ball allows for so very many dirty jokes, how can you not love it? ) Regardless of one's feelings on those particular points, though, Enel poses a more visceral menace than any antagonist in the series thus far, and seeing him brought down like that is immensely satisfying. On a broader scale, I have a huge soft spot for the entire Skypiea Saga as a whole...for one, it's where I first started watching the series with FUNi's dubbed broadcast episodes, and for another, it's pretty much the only place in the entire series where the Straw Hats get to go on an adventure solely for adventure's sake, just to explore a fantastic new world. spoiler[It's also pretty much the only time they act like pirates and score some booty, too.] Also, how many other shounen out there do you know of that have managed to tackle such heady topics as religion and centuries of racial injustice?

At least they didn't drag it out as far as the fight they just finished in the simulcasts. I realize that's allowing the manga to get ahead, and yeah, it was good, but even any of those who didn't read the manga could tell they were dragging it waaaaaaay the heck out.

I thought the fight was dragged out for a good reason. spoiler[It was an immense war with a lot of key figures at play. It would be really difficult to go over every little detail or emphasize how epic it was even in the span of a couple of episodes] But admittedly, they did drag it out more than what they needed to. With the anime being so close to the manga, It's either that or a lengthy filler arc. Which we haven't seen since after the conclusion of Enies Lobby. Overall, I can't say I'm really bothered with One Piece's lengthy arcs. I got accustomed to that after watching plenty of shows with the same quirks.

As far as how out of place some of the arcs are, well that's just One Piece for ya. Everything seems out of place. Thriller Bark had Brook, a key character, and his somber past. Which the anime did great justice with.

It's been forever since I last saw Skypeia, but wasn't that flashback where spoiler[we learn the importance of the bell between Norlan and the Shandians? Or something like that? Cause without it then Luffy ringing the bell wouldn't have nearly as much impact?] I always liked that One Piece took time to give backstory before big fights. Like in the Water 7/Ennies Lobby arc, us getting to see spoiler[the past of Nico Robin and the damage the Buster Call did to her island really helped drive in the severity of Spandam's actions].

I mean, if the reviewer wants the final fight of Skypeia to have no bigger meaning other than Luffy punching out another bad guy, then sure, I can somewhat see the reviewer's side. For me though, it's that crucial backstory and well-crafted arcs that separate One Piece from the other big shounen anime.

Though, like I said, it has been a long time since I watched Skypeia, so the flashbacks perhaps didn't give any bigger meaning to the fight at all.

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